Lessons in Values

George Dragone of Classic Motorcars will be speaking at The Golden Age of Trucking Museum on January 12. photo courtesy The Golden Age of Trucking Museum

Pining for ideas on whiling away a winter day? If you own a historic truck — or for that matter, a historic car or motorcycle — you could do a lot worse than making a run to The Golden Age of Trucking Museum in Middlebury, Connecticut, on Saturday, January 12. That’s when George Dragone, of Dragone Classic Motorcars, will conduct a general discussion on vehicle restoration.

If you’ve never heard of George and Manny Dragone, allow us to make the introduction. They operate Dragone Classic Motorcars in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and while their primary mission is restoration and sales, they are among the world’s most accomplished automotive archaeologists, with a portfolio of rare finds dating back to the earliest days of motoring. They’re a big part of the brain trust behind the discovery of the one-of-one 1937 Delage D8-120 S Portout Aerodynamic Coupe that won Pebble Beach in 2005. George’s amazing 1911 Hotchkiss copped an award at Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car’s car show at Lime Rock Park in May 2006. In addition to his talk, George will bring two cars: A 1908 Baker Electric, part of the White House fleet during the administrations of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, and a Bridgeport-built 1899 Locomobile steamer.

Automotive historian Dennis David and museum director Robert Manchester will also be speaking during the event, with the seminars running from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. For more information, call the museum at 203-577-2181, or visit www.goldenagetruckmuseum.com.

(This post originally appeared in the January 3, 2008, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.)